have GB been unlucky in the draw or have they just played bad, to lose 9 out of 10 of their previous 1st-round
catweazle asked:
matches in the davis cup….and is it true that 1986 is the last time we got beyond the first round?
matches in the davis cup….and is it true that 1986 is the last time we got beyond the first round?
also….is there a winner of each group[s] below the world level [and so raising the question of big fish in a small pond versus small fish in a big pond debate] or is all that the lower teams are playing for–.. the right to be involved in a play-off match..ie the teams not lucky enough to be in the top 16 dont have the chance of winning anything–even a second tier/second rate trophy!
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Category: Uncategorized | Tags: Davis Cup, Debate, Small Fish 2 comments »
January 21st, 2010 at 9:03 am
GB just seem to be caught in the situation where they are not good enough to beat the teams in the top 8 in the world and so always tend to lose their first round match once they are promoted into the World Group (top 16 countries). Our only win in the last 10 times we have been in the top group was as you say in 1986 when we beat Spain.
Countries aspire to compete in the elite World Group of 16 nations. Other nations play in regional zones (Americas, Asia/Oceania, and Europe/Africa) in one of four groups. The competition is spread over four weekends during the year. Each tie between competing nations is held in one of the countries. The ITF determines host countries for all possible matchups before each year’s tournament.
The World Group is the top group, consisting of a four-round knockout tournament. Teams are seeded based on a ranking system released by the ITF, taking into account previous years’ results. The defending champion and runner-up are always the top two seeds in the tournament. The losers of the first-round matches are sent to the World Group playoff round, where they play along with winners from Group I of the regional zones. The playoff round winners play in the World Group for the next year’s tournament, while the losers play in Group I of their respective regional zone.
Each of the regional zones is divided into four groups. Groups I and II play knockout tournaments with the losing teams facing relegation to a lower group. Groups III and IV play round-robin tournaments with promotion and relegation.
January 23rd, 2010 at 7:49 am
No, the teams in the lower groups don’t win any sort of prize, just prestige*. Spain or Argentina were the two teams we absolutely did not want, they both have home ties (so they’ll choose ultra slow clay courts), and the best groups of players. I’ve heard Murray says his favourite surface is clay, but he’s said the same about hard and grass, he changes his tone to suit which crowd he wants to chum up to.
* Of which there is very little anyway. It should at least amalgamate with the Fed Cup.